Spring is invigorating for a birder. Birds are nesting. Colors are flashing. Songs fill the air as the birds search for their mates. The sun brings new life to the plants and animals as the season rolls in. Spring also brings a migration—of the hummingbirds.
There are several hummingbird species we see here in New Mexico. The Black-chinned Hummingbird and the Broad-tailed Hummingbird are two of the most common species to travel through Albuquerque, though we may see a few other species, like the Calliope Hummingbird as well. The Rufous Hummingbird flies through starting in July, and all these hummingbirds are hungry.
The Black-chinned Hummingbird, like all hummingbirds, enjoys the nectar of our native plants and the sugar water we put out for them. Red does draw them in, but they are drawn to recent sources of nectar above all else. This being so, red dye mixed into any sugar water we offer is detrimental to the little birds. The best thing we can offer these birds as they travel through is sugar water—one-quarter cup of sugar to one cup of water.
The Black-chinned Hummingbird is known to nest in New Mexico. The birds have been known to nest as close as 100 meters to each other near rivers and ponds. Female Black-chinned Hummingbirds build their nests from spider and insect silk and flexible sticks. Their eggs are the size of a coffee bean, but once the babies hatch, the nest will expand as the babies grow. Natural cotton balls are an excellent way for us birders to provide nesting material for Black-chinned Hummingbirds.
In July, as the summer sets in, we will see the bright orange Rufous Hummingbirds. These birds are territorial and will chase off any other hummingbirds near the feeder they’ve claimed. This can be frustrating for a birder since we want to encourage hummingbirds of all kinds to eat at our feeders. If a Rufous Hummingbird has chosen your feeder, placing another feeder out of sight of the first feeder also gives the other hummingbirds a chance to eat. Rufous hummingbirds have the furthest ability to travel out of any other hummingbirds migrating through, hence their territorial behavior. Their flashes of orange and green solidify the coming of summer.
The arrival of hummingbirds is an exciting part of spring. The little birds will stay with us until early fall. We have a summer to look forward to all the species of hummingbirds, especially the Black-chinned Hummingbird.
Maddie McDonald
A Birder Who Can’t Stop Looking Out Their Window(For Hummingbirds)
